I visited Brazil over a long weekend last month, marking my inaugural trip to South America. This may come as a surprise, but having been based out of Asia until recently, 24+ hour transits did not rank high on my priority list. So why Brazil? Truthfully, I was getting fed up with the bullshit in this town (starting to learn what this love-hate thing with NYC is all about), and being confined indoors over the holidays because it was literally too cold to go outside was depressing. I wanted to escape the city and meander around different (and warmer) surroundings, even if it meant doing so alone.

An otherwise arbitrary choice, my decision was fueled by availability of miles tickets (read: free). Cartagena? Fully booked. Buenos Aires? Try again later. Lima? Sorry Vix, Machu Picchu will just have to wait. After a 45 minute phone call (and geography lesson) with the ticketing agent, I learned that the only way to capitalize on my newfound proximity to South America and imminently expiring frequent flyer miles was to book Sao Paulo. And so I did.

I was lucky enough to be joined by a friend who made the trek all the way from Hong Kong and a local Brazilian acquaintance who had been introduced to me by another friend London, but if given the opportunity to visit again, I wouldn’t hesitate to go alone.

Some observations gleaned:

1) Electronic dance music + beach = recipe for a good time. While the locals weren’t bending over backwards to prove the worthiness of their country (in contrast to many tourist interactions in Asia), there was a clear convivial spirit all-around, given the right setting.

2) Traffic is a mess. How often do “developing economy” and “gridlock” go hand in hand? Perhaps we should have known better.

3) Sao Paulo was surprisingly difficult to navigate without Portuguese language capability. My Brazilian operating experience was in some ways similar to that of Hong Kong in that while I had rudimentary understanding of Spanish, the mutual intelligibility of the languages did not get me very far. In the local Canto-speaking parts of Hong Kong, my Mandarin understanding is analagously useless.

4) Inimitable bonds are formed while traveling. Not to be mistaken for physical or even emotional connections, a special intimacy is shared when, thousands of miles away, you meet a total stranger with a mutual friend, for example. Or when you randomly cross paths with someone who traversed the streets of your old neighborhood in Hong Kong, but under an entirely different set of circumstances.

5) Leaving makes you appreciate returning home that much more. I’ll admit it: stability is underrated.

So I got what I sought out, a challenging environment for my brain to work extra hard to function at par and a handful of new friends I may never meet again. Far from a life-altering trip, but still a good learning experience about myself. I returned to NYC restored (albeit sunburnt) and just in time to learn that ZAOZAO had earned a spot as a pitch finalist at a tech conference in San Francisco. Aaand it’s back to the hustle!